The Pumpkin Spice Café falls into the genre of contemporary romance. Although The Pumpkin Spice Café explores serious themes such as grief and trauma, Laurie Gilmore imbues the plot with a lighthearted tone punctuated by many comedic moments. Contemporary romances are categorized by their happy endings and familiar plotlines but often focus on the main characters’ personal growth and the obstacles they must overcome to achieve their happy ending. As in The Pumpkin Spice Café, most contemporary romance heroines and heroes are flawed; these narratives often show protagonists helping each other overcome barriers to not only becoming romantically involved but also being better, happier people.

Just as contemporary romance novels rely on familiar narrative structures, they also often feature tropes, archetypes, and common situations, such as enemies-to-lovers relationships, marriage-of-convenience plotlines, and quaint settings. The Pumpkin Spice Café uses many conventions typical of contemporary romance novels, including the forced proximity trope, in which continually being in the same settings and situations forces Jeanie and Logan to confront the feelings that they had been trying to avoid. Secret dating is another common romance convention used in The Pumpkin Spice Café, where pretending not to have feelings for one another forces Jeanie and Logan to confront what else they are hiding.